When Troubles Arise
by sherlxck.holmes
Summary: Zoe and Max have finally got back to a normal lifestyle after the wedding, but when personal problems arise for Zoe, how will she cope? And what consequences will they lead to?
1. Calm before the storm

**I want to start a Zax fanfic because I have quite a few ideas, I'll try and upload every week but I have a lot of course work to do so it may change slightly.**

Everything was back to normal, well, as normal as it could ever be, Max had finally moved back in and they were finally a happy married couple. Life was now moving forward and things were looking up, things could only get better, couldn't they?

Max scrunched his eyes up as he woke up, the sun streaming through the windows and the frost layering the ground outside. He looked to his side and glanced at his beautiful wife, sound asleep, a strand of hair falling across her face, which Max gently stroked out the way.

"Mmmmm, Max," Zoe groaned as she woke, placing her hand onto Max's chest as she rose on her shoulders.

"Morning gorgeous," Max smiled, placing a small kiss on her lips, which she confidently responded. Finally, Zoe pulled away and grinned.

"Come on, we're going to be late for work," Zoe moaned, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Fine, I'll make you a coffee," Max got changed quickly and went downstairs, leaving Zoe to get ready.

Once they had finally finished breakfast, they left for work, arriving just on time. They walked through reception hand in hand, just like the old days, smiling at Noel who grinned his usual grin. It was all too quiet though, there were not many patients in the waiting area and resus seemed reasonably clear, just a patient waiting to go up to Darwin, but it was just the calm before the storm.

"Zoe! RTC, ETA 5 minutes, Connie spoke, Zoe dropped her stuff in her office and helped prep resus. Zoe needed to know what equipment to use so she tried to find Connie and asked for the age of the patients.

"Oh Connie, I was just wandering, do you know the condition and age of the patients?" Zoe peered through Connie's office.

"Mother and child, both with major chest traumas and the child is in respiratory arrest," Connie spoke softly.

Zoe's face dropped, it's always been difficult for her to treat young children (mainly babies) due to her infertility, but since her wedding, she's sort of changed, she gets overly cautious over small matters and she often blames herself for matters which cannot be changed, Max has tried speaking to her about it but she just shrugs it off. Could this be the straw which breaks the camel's back?

 **So this is going to be an ongoing fic, it's going to be centred mainly around problems which arise for Zoe, some which lead to serious consequences, I'm open for reviews as I'd like to know if there can be any improvements, thank you, Chloe x**


	2. A moment of madness

**Okay, here's the next chapter, I'm glad you liked the chapter before, this one will hopefully be a bit longer.**

The mother and baby had arrived and were now in resus, screams could be heard throughout the ED, pleading for life and hope, two things which were valued even more in that small room, wired with oxygen and medicine.

Zoe walked in through the double doors, noticing the tiny baby on the gurney, she made her way over to the mother, placing a pair of rubber gloves on her hands and then assessing the young woman. The mother was getting more and more agitated, clearly deep in worry about her child.

"Is she going to be okay, please, you have to help her," the woman was fighting against her injuries, pulling against the wires and tubes, insistent on seeing her little girl.

"Come on now, I need you to stay calm for me Helen, your daughter is in the best possible hands," Zoe was trying to take control of the situation, speaking reassuring words to the woman laying before her.

"Please, promise me, you'll help her, you'll save Sky, promise me you'll make her better," cried the mother, whilst the baby's monitor began to go off; Ethan trying his best to help her.

"You know I can't promise things like that, you need to have faith in our doctors," She spoke calmly back.

"No! You promise me, promise me she'll be okay," the younger woman was almost out of breath.

Zoe was unsure of what to say, thoughts raced through her mind, she began to think if she was on that trolley, what would she want?

 _She'd want reassurance surely, to be able to have some faith that her child would make it, to know that there is still some hope in the world. Yes, as a doctor, it would be hard to believe anything anyone would say, but words of wisdom would be what she would want. She'd always wanted to have a baby, obviously she couldn't, but surely she would want to know if it was going to die, however, on the other hand, you don't want to be told the light of your life, the spring in your winter, is going to die. No, she'd want hopeful words, coming with faith and a sense of wisdom._

Without as much as a moment's hesitation, Zoe spoke, "I promise".

The younger woman relaxed a bit more, she settled back into the pillow and smiled a gentle smile, full of the hope that her daughter would survive, full of the words which Zoe spoke.

Zoe walked over to Ethan and the baby.

"ummm, can I help?" Zoe asked nervously, she'd never really felt nervous before, where had the confident Dr Hanna gone?

"I'm afraid I think we've done all we could for the child," Ethan said, clearly feeling a sense of emotion.

"No! We're not giving up on her!".

"Come on Zoe, you of all people know that we can't really go any further, we've done all we can for he," Ethan felt rather out of place telling his boss what to do.

"No Ethan!" Zoe pushed passed Ethan and restarted chest compressions, applying the little pressure which was needed for a baby of her age.

 _It was strange, she had never felt this way before, she had gone against regulations just to carry on with saving a life even though she knew how it would end. She saw that little face staring up at her, however, her eyes were still shut, her mouth propped open from being intubated. She seemed to be doing CPR on Sky for hours, but it was merely minutes. Sky was the only thing she could hear, her name whizzing through her head, using every strength she could to bring her back to life, but life was never an option._

The monitors ended with long beep, almost like a silence, calling for the dead. Zoe had finally given up. She'd broken her promise, she promised that she would save Sky, she gave hope to a mother how was expecting a child in her hands, she gave her false hope.

In all the commotion of all the nurses and the beeps and the insistent cries of other patients, Ethan had pushed Zoe aside, she was now breathing heavily, the world spinning before her, her world turning into a nightmare, one from which she couldn't escape. Her eyes were rimmed with sweat, and her hands trembled before her, the world went silent, and then suddenly black…

 **Oooh, a cliff hanger! I hope you liked it, Chloe x**


	3. A coffee for a good day

**Woahh, I left you on a cliff hanger back there, and I am so overwhelmed by your lovely reviews, here's the next chapter.**

 _It was dark, no place she had ever been before, she was falling into darkness. She could hear a woman screaming, crying out the name 'Sky', pleading for her child to come back, to be in her arms once again. It was all her fault, she promised she would save him, she promised her and gave her hope, but all fell apart, just like her wedding. It was all her fault…_

"Zoe! Zoe! Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes for me please? Ethan pleaded, checking her vitals.

"Yes, yes I can hear you, what happened Ethan?" Zoe mumbled, slowly propping herself onto her eyebrows.

"We think you must have fainted, you look exhausted, no offence," Ethan helped his boss up.

"Look, I'm fine Ethan, nothing to worry about," Zoe wafted her hands, trying to stop the nurses fussing.

"Well I think you should take the rest of the day off, get some rest, do some admin or something," he said.

"Oh for goodness sake, fine," Zoe pressed her hand to her head and walked out the doors, being greeted by a flustered Max.

"Oh my god, Zoe! Are you okay? I heard what happened, how are you?" Max gripped onto his wife's hands, clearly in worry.

"I'm fine Max, honestly, I'm just going to do some admin," Zoe spoke calmly.

"Okay then, I'll visit you later with a coffee, and if you're lucky, a Curly Wurly," Max smiled back.

Zoe slowly made her way back to her office, repeating the events which happened, over and over in her head. It finally hit home to her, Helen. She hadn't apologised, she had left her in resus with a dead child, but she couldn't go back, not now. Not now as it was her words which she gave, her words which gave Helen hope.

The more she thought about it the more she panicked, and then she realised. It must have been a panic attack, the symptoms added up and she had one before which was similar. She didn't want to believe it herself, she couldn't tell Max, she would just have to hope it wouldn't happen again.

Two hours had passed and Zoe's headache had finally faded away, she had managed to fill out some admin but she was dazed with thoughts. She was about to go and grab a coffee when she received a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called.

The door opened and Max swung in, two coffees in his hands.

"Ahhh, hello Max," Zoe spoke.

"Afternoon Zo," he placed a kiss on her forehead and passed her a coffee and curly wurly.

"Thanks, I'm dying for a coffee," she smiled.

"How are you feeling beautiful?" he asked her.

"Okay, I just want to go home," she said, taking a sip from her coffee.

"Well my shift finishes in an hour, I'll pick you up outside your office, yeah?"

"Sounds good," she replied.

Max left Zoe and got back to work, Zoe was tired of doing paper work for the time being, so she cosied herself up on the sofa and sat alone in her thoughts. However, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep, she drifted off into her own world, consumed by dreams.

A while later, Max arrived outside Zoe's office, waiting impatiently for her to come out. He opened the door to find his wife fast asleep on the sofa, her mouth slightly open and her eyes peacefully closed. He smiled to himself as he silently joined her.

 **I was unsure what to write after Zoe fainted but I hope you like it, Chloe x**


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